


Replaced

by TheSteinsGateFormula



Series: The life and times of growing up with an education obsessed and traumatised school Principal [3]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, forced eating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27827176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSteinsGateFormula/pseuds/TheSteinsGateFormula
Summary: The Principal decided his friends were a distraction.
Series: The life and times of growing up with an education obsessed and traumatised school Principal [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2054904
Comments: 10
Kudos: 122





	Replaced

**Author's Note:**

> Oneshot request for @angelicamusic5 who wanted Angst sprinkled with more angst.

_Everything had to be perfect._

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes when he saw the mass line leading up to the mountain where 3-E’s restaurant was situated. He curled his hands tightly, feeling a swell of anxiety.

_How the hell did they suddenly gain praising review from an online pampered food blogger?? None of it made any sense!_

“Hey.” Ren placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back from his raging. “I grabbed us lunch.”

Gakushuu scowled, glancing over his shoulder to find Ren holding two food boxes full of different foods from the other stalls. “Hm.” His scowl stayed, taking the box when his stomach grumbled. “We need to get back and push for the final sales.”

Ren nodded, walking alongside him as they turned back to the main campus building. “Koyama and Araki have already run most of the numbers, we’re still in the lead.” He smirked. “In fact, most of the high schoolers have come down to see our event.”

Gakushuu’s scowl wavered briefly. “As expected.”

Class A’s High School counterparts were definitely nothing to sneeze at, their seniors were without a doubt what the Principal considered the cream of the crop, well-refined diamonds chiselled down to perfection. They always outperformed the lower years and the junior high school, setting an example to the lowerclassmen.

Until this year.

He started to smile, no other year had ever come this close to beating the high school at the festival. His smile grew when he imagined the looks on their and the Principal’s face when the junior high Class A’s outperformed them all.

Ren nudged him. “Careful, you’re smiling so much the upperclassmen might get offended if you act like you’ve already won.”

Gakushuu’s smile became crooked while Ren looked amused. “Perish the thought, Ren,” he remarked, causing the other boy to snort in amusement. “I would never be so ill-mannered.”

Ren looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Of course, I don’t even know why I’d even consider it.”

Gakushuu forced his smile to fade into something reserved and pleasant in case Ren really did start laughing.

* * *

“I still don’t get why they closed early?” Koyama commented as the festival ended and the crew from the corporate sponsor helped Class A with clean up.

Gakushuu hummed, signing a few forms to release the stage equipment back to the rental company while his companions chatted behind him. The hall was nearly empty, with a few of 3-A remaining to help clean the floors and empty the bins.

“I heard that they ran out of food,” Araki replied, shrugging. “I mean…they did have a lot of people.” He tensed up when Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at him. “But not more than us!”

Gakushuu rolled his eyes and walked over. “No, they won’t have matched out numbers. Correct, Ren?”

Ren smiled. “Well, they put up a fight, but they’ll be lucky if it lands them third place.” His smile grew smugger. “The High School managed to make up some numbers when 3-E closed early, though, but…” He half-shrugged. “Their finance secretary may have let slip a few details she shouldn’t have when we were… _sharing_ some fondue.”

Gakushuu sighed in annoyance while Araki and Koyama looked amused.”

“Ugh, you’re such a slut,” Seo commented.

Ren’s smile became sugar sweet and tight at the edges. “Funny, I haven’t seen Tsuchiya around here recent-“

“DON’T TALK BAD ABOUT MY GIRLFRIEND!” Seo yelled petulantly.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Gakushuu quickly intervened when Seo’s face turned red with rage. “Enough bickering.” He shot Ren a look which the boy returned wink with an innocent smile.

Araki was struggling not to laugh. “Look this week’s been stressful, how about we go grab some bubble tea?”

Ren hummed as his smile grew coy. “I do know some hot babes who’d give us a discount.”

“Should we be concerned just how many females are willing to give you a discount on random products?” Gakushuu remarked dryly.

“Yeah, kinda feels like we’re pimping you out,” Seo snipped back when he saw the opportunity.

Koyama snorted. “Like, don’t they have jealous boyfriends?”

_Most likely._

Ren didn’t look concerned. “If they do, I don’t stick around to have them find me.”

“Of course not,” Gakushuu sighed, shaking his head. “Well, enjoy your tea. I still have work to do.”

Ren’s smile vanished, replaced with a frown. “But I thought you were free?” He blocked his path. “You told me to block off your diary.”

That he had, but that had just been in case of clean up took longer than expected, which hadn’t been much of the case since it was only 5:30pm and everything was taken care of. “I may not have any more commitments, but I’ll be expected to spend the remaining time studying; finals aren’t far away so I suggest you do the same.”

“Oh, come on.” Seo joined ranks with Ren, blocking the path. “We just spent the last month working our asses off for the festival, we all deserve a break!”

“Yeah.” Araki frowned, crossing his arms. “Come on, Asano, it’ll just be a few hours.”

Gakushuu’s brow furrowed, tensing a little. “Just because the festival is over doesn’t mean we can afford complacency. I need to be at the top of my game for finals so I can lead us to victory.”

Seo rolled his eyes. “We’re not going to all fail because we spent a few hours drinking tea, Asano.”

“Yeah, come on.” Araki smiled disarmingly, causing his frown to grow. “Just a few hours, please.”

“It won’t be fun if you’re not there,” Koyama said, scowling.

“Yeah.” Ren swung an arm over Seo. “Seo’s annoying enough. We need someone to keep the conversation interesting.”

Seo glared at him. “Fuck you!”

Gakushuu felt a rise of amusement but quickly buried it, hesitating when he looked at them.

He supposed they had all worked hard…and good leaders rewarded hard work. Even the Principal agreed to that. Strength was rewarded.

“…I suppose a couple of hours would be acceptable,” Gakushuu replied apprehensively, checking his phone. “But I can’t stay long.”

The smiles on their faces seemed to light up the room for some reason.

“Awesome!” Ren grinned, swinging an arm around him. “Don’t worry, the place where we can get the discount has great bubble tea, you’ll love it!”

Gakushuu scowled faintly when he felt a warm feeling grow in his chest for some reason as they crowded around, looking excited as they left the hall.

* * *

“This bubble tea is nothing like the one in Los Angelos,” Seo’s voice carried across the café as Gakushuu returned to his seat after going to the bathroom.

“Yeah, because this place is better,” Ren commented, slurping his mango bubble tea.

Seo glared at him. “How would you know?”

“You’re not the only one who’s been to America, Seo.” Ren raised an eyebrow.

Seo bristled. “Yeah, but I spent a _whole year_ there! So I have more experience with these things.”

Gakushuu discreetly rolled his eye sand drank his Jasmine bubble tea while Ren looked unimpressed with Seo’s rant.

Araki chuckled. “So what? Did you spend every day sampling endless amounts of bubble tea?”

Koyama smirked, slurping his Taro tea. “Didn’t you say you’d only had bubble tea when you came back to Japan last year?”

“Uh…” Seo blushed, causing Ren to grin.

The corner of Gakushuu’s lips curved upwards. “If you’re going to lie, Seo, you should keep better track of the stories you’re telling.”

Seo flushed bright red and glared at them when they laughed. “…I hate you guys…”

Ren flicked a straw at him. “Then why hang out with us?”

Seo scoffed. “I only hang around for Asano’s sake, God knows the rest of you idiots would drive him crazy with your incompetence.”

Gakushuu smirked, slurping his tea. “Seo’s skills in the student council are valuable.”

“Hey! I’m the one who actually makes sure things get done!”Ren looked offended while Seo smirked.

Gakushuu looked amused, drinking his tea while Ren’s eyes narrowed.

Seo rolled his eyes. “No one cares about the secretary, Ren.”

Ren used his straw to shoot a load of bubble tea pearls at him.

“HEY!” Seo shielded his face as he was pelted. “Fuck you!” He used his own straw to pelt the bubble tea pearls. “Slut!”

“Quit it!” Araki and Koyama ducked under the table to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow as the two engaged in a fight with straws and bubble tea pearls as weapons. He should be stopping this but….He felt a chuckle bubble up in his chest as he watched, a smile spreading across his face without realising.

“Excuse me?” They were interrupted with an angry-looking server woman who had a tray under her arm. “Please can you stop, you’re disturbing the other customers.”

Ren and Seo stopped attacking, a mess already spilled on the table with the balls of flavoured liquid scattered on table and floor.

“Uh…”

Ren gave a nervous laugh and hoisted an arm around Seo. “Sorry! My friend and I just got a little over-excited trading flavours.” He grinned and poked Seo’s cheek, earning a glare. “We’re _really_ sorry.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed.

Gakushuu cleared his throat and smiled apologetically as he bowed his head. “I’m so sorry for my friends, we’ll clean up the mess immediately and won’t cause any more noise.”

That seemed to placate the woman, but she still through a suspicious look at them before sighing. “Please don’t disturb the other customers again.” She turned around and headed back to the counter where one of the young high school girls was glaring at Ren and looked embarrassed.

“Uh, I’m pretty sure you just lost your discount,” Araki commented.

Ren didn’t seem bothered, letting Seo go. “Eh. I know another girl who can hook me up.”

“Ugh.” Araki sighed, shaking his head. “Of course you do…”

Gakushuu sighed. “Just clean up the mess before they kick us out.” His eyes narrowed. “We shouldn’t be making a scene.”

Ren looked embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Right, sorry, Asano.” He and Seo hurried up to tidy the mess they’d made.

Gakushuu shook his head while Koyama and Araki looked more amused when the two boys were forced to clean up.

“Hey, Asano, I have an idea for a new club,” Koyama started to propose.

Gakushuu sighed. “Is it that dungeons and dragons game again?”

Koyama’s cheeks heated up. “Um, n-no!”

Araki smirked, resting his chin in his palm. “He’s been trying to get me to join.”

Gakushuu looked unimpressed. “Koyama, I doubt I can clear a dungeons and dragon club. It doesn’t serve a purpose.”

“Yes, it does!” Koyama insisted. “It teaches lots of skills.”

“Such as?” Gakushuu replied dismissively, slurping his tea as he started to drown Koyama out.

“Well…” Koyama took a deep breath and then launched into a well-rehearsed spiel on the pros of having the club authorised, Gakushuu barely could bring himself to nod along as Araki chuckled.

Ren didn’t even try to interrupt to rescue him and just seemed to find Koyama’s argument more and more amusing as Gakushuu was forced to listen to it for what felt like hours.

“…And then there’s the whole storytelling aspect!” Koyama continued to prattle on until Gakushuu felt like gauging his eyes out with one of the straws.

Araki seemed to notice he was at his wit's end and finally interrupted. “Should we order seconds?”

Gakushuu sighed, reaching into his bag to grab his phone. “I won’t be able to stay much longer. I—” He stiffened when he saw that it was 8:05pm and there were three missed calls from the Principal, causing his stomach to drop. “Why is my phone on ‘no not disturb mode’?” His eyes narrowed at them accusingly.

“Huh?” Ren looked at him questionably. “What?”

“I didn’t do it,” Koyama said quickly.

“Yeah, me neither.” Araki glanced at Seo pointedly.

Gakushuu gripped his phone tight and levelled the boy with a glare. “Seo…”

Seo gulped. “What? We’re meant to be having a break? What’s the big deal anyway it’s only been a couple of hours?”

_Only?!_

Gakushuu’s fingers twitched to claw at the other boy’s throat. “I should be home by now.” He quickly grabbed his bag, a sinking feeling in his stomach. “I’ve lost valuable time—”

“Hey, wait.” Ren frowned, gently placing a hand on his shoulder to stop him. “It’s okay.” His voice made him hesitate. “What Seo did was stupid.” He shot a glare at the boy, causing Seo to slump. “But, he just wants you to relax, okay?” He patted his shoulder. “You need to have a break.” His brow furrowed. “We can’t beat E Class in finals if we’re all overworked.”

Gakushuu eyed him warily, his shoulders still tensed and on guard. “I am perfectly aware of my limits.” He narrowed his eyes at Seo coldly, causing the boy to grimace. “And I do not appreciate meddling.” He shifted out of Ren’s grip, ignoring the flash of disappointment on his friend…companion…classmate’s face. “…Besides, I’m expected home.”

“…Right.” Ren’s smile returned quickly, pleasant as ever. “We should all head home anyway. Let’s all head to the station together.”

Gakushuu still felt a twinge of irritation, but it faded quickly when Ren kept smiling. “…Very well.”

“Awesome!” Ren patted him on the back as the other stood up to leave.

* * *

Gakushuu dragged his feet a little as he walked home, growing tired as something unpleasant twisted in his stomach like the bubble tea had disagreed with him.

He took his time to dig out his house keys from his pocket to open the front door. The house was quiet when he went inside and removed his shoes, neatly placing them on the rack on the wall.

“Asano?”

He stiffened when he heard the principal calling from a room down the hallway. “Yes?” Gakushuu straightened up and absently smoothed down his tie.

“Come here.”

Gakushuu grimaced, glaring at the hallway, walking down it nevertheless to find his father. Whatever the man wanted, a lecture was inevitable, and besides he wasn’t a coward, he could handle whatever particular inconvenience the man wanted to bestow upon him.

He found his father in the dining room, sitting at the table near a bowl of what looked like noodles in a stew. “You called?” he asked, staying in the doorway, a good distance between them.

The Principal smiled at him. “Ah, there you are, I was beginning to get worried.”

Gakushuu dug his nails into the wood of the door, growing more on edge. “Why? I’m perfectly capable of—”

“You weren’t where you were supposed to be,” his father interrupted lightly, tapping his finger gently on the table. “And you missed dinner.” He glanced at the stew which Gakushuu now regarded suspiciously. “Why is that?”

His nails dug into the wood hard, keeping composure. “…I was studying at the library with the others,” he lied smoothly. “I turned my phone on ‘do not disturb’ so we wouldn’t get distracted.”

His father stared at him for a long time, eyes drilling into him a lesser man would have squirmed. “Hm…” Then he smiled again. “You should have called.”

Gakushuu swallowed. “Yes, I know. It slipped my mind.”

“I see.” His father hummed again, looking at the bowl. “You must be hungry. Come sit.”

Gakushuu didn’t move straight away, feeling his nerves start to get the better of him. “…I’m not hungry—”

“Sit down.” The Principal’s voice turned cold like a twitch had been flicked, eyes looking dead. “ _Now.”_

He pried his fingers from the cracked wood of the doorway, sitting down next to his father in front of the bowl of…his hands curled into fists when he saw it was last nights leftovers which were half-frozen, flakes of frost on the noodles and a thin layer on the rim of the stew.

“You shouldn’t waste Erina’s cooking, Asano,” his father said lightly while Gakushuu stared at the bowl in disgust. “She works hard for us.”

Gakushuu clutched the bowl tight; it was freezing to touch. “I need to micro—”

“No, you don’t.” His father stared at him as he passed him the spoon.

Gakushuu stared at the bowl, the noodles were stiff when he poked them with the spoon and the stew was like slush; his stomach curdled, wanting to vomit at the thought of it. “I’m not eating this…” He didn’t look at the principal. “It’s _disgusting.”_

He was a leader, he was strong, and he wasn’t going to just sit here and….and…

Gakushuu cringed when he looked at the principal’s expression, the same expression he’d seen when his father had broken Jose’s wrist in the office when the four exchange students had taken the bait and rushed to attack.

“Well?” His father tilted his head slightly.

_It’ll get worse if you don’t do it._

Gakushuu gripped the spoon tight before forced himself to eat the first bite, nearly vomiting it up when the slushy texture touched his tongue, and then swallowed. At least the food _had_ been cooked, but it didn’t make the taste of it any better.

“…I don’t know why you feel a need to lie to me, son,” the Principal said lightly while he watched him eat another spoonful of the slush. “You know I can see right through it. You’re _my_ student. I know you better than you know yourself.”

Gakushuu didn’t say anything and forced himself to eat another spoonful, nearly vomiting when he had to chew the ramen to break it up into smaller pieces, the small chunks feeling like pins down his throat.

“I know you set the time aside to study after you’d finished the cleanup, I checked, and the clean up finished well before 6pm.” The Principal sighed. “It’s so unlike you to go off your own schedule so suddenly.” He smiled at him while Gakushuu tried not to choke on the frozen veg. “And then I saw the camera footage of your friends dragging you off…”

Gakushuu opened his mouth to speak but quickly clamped it shut when he felt some bile threaten to creep up and escape from his throat.

“…I know I’m not one for concern outside of school unless necessary,” he said evenly, causing Gakushuu to glance up warily as he ate. “But I think some intervention calls when my prized student is distracted.”

Gakushuu swallowed the frozen veg and winced when it travelled down his throat like rocks. “I’m not distracted.” He felt a rise of panic start to swell of anxiety. “They’re not a distraction.”

His mind flittered to one summer of being eight years old and being locked up in a room for a whole week to study because he was ‘playing too much soccer’. He hadn’t been allowed to play the game for a whole year after that. Distractions were removed. Friendships were detrimental if they became an obstacle.

The Principal hummed, resting his cheek in his palm. “…Weren’t they the ones who placed that bet with E Class?”

Gakushuu gripped the spoon tight. “It was meant to be good morale for—”

“And weren’t they the ones to lose a majority of the top spots at that time?”

“…Yes.” Gakushuu swallowed, feeling his anxiety grow suffocating. “But we—”

“And the pole toppling,” he interjected evenly. “Even with those four friends of yours, you still lost with all of 3-A backing you. So, I wonder…” He pretended to think While Gakushuu grew more nauseous. “If you’re unable to effectively control them and lead them, then are they becoming more of a distraction than an asset?”

Gakushuu felt cold, feeling his skin prickle with goosebumps. “They’re…” He composed himself. “They’re not a distraction.” He sat up straighter. “The festival is proof enough of that.”

His father grew silent, staring at him for a long moment while Gakushuu kept his guard up. “…That Koyama boy was kicked out from the top five, twice was it?” he asked, receiving silence as a response. “I consider it curious why he wasn’t discarded from the group until his grades improved.” The Principal adjusted a cufflink. “I only ask because I was curious if your little name had changed from the Big five to the Big six or perhaps ten since ranking doesn’t seem to hold as much importance as it once did apparently.”

Gakushuu clenched the spoon tight. “…Koyama is still an asset even if he made a mistake,” he replied with strained politeness. “I communicated his short-comings to him myself, I don’t need your intervention on how to manage _my_ classmates.”

His father sighed. “Well, I suppose if you really have everything under control then there’s nothing to be concerned about, is there?” He leaned back in his chair, nodding for him to keep eating. “Make sure to chew.”

Gakushuu’s gaze was bitter as he forced himself to eat another bite, trying to ignore the vile taste as he ate. He forced himself to eat every last bite and slurp of it, forcing the food down while trying his best to mentally block the taste.

He breathed heavily and covered his mouth when he had to forced back some vomit that was threatening to unheave the meal back into the bowl. “…We’ll win,” he muttered, holding back a cough as his stomach churned. “The festival, finals. We’ll win.”

There was a pause as the Principal stared at him for a while as he was struggling not to vomit up the half-frozen dinner. “Hm…we’ll see.”

* * *

Standing up to the Principal and declaring in the most eloquent terms that his entire system and life’s work was _bullshit_ was the most exhilarating moment in Gakushuu’s life…even if he had maybe misspoken and accidentally nearly called them minions to their faces…

Regardless, it had felt amazing, and Ren and the others had smiled…and then, the Principal had asked to speak with them alone.

“What?” Gakushuu tensed, frowning as his stomach churned.

_Why would his father want to speak with his friends without him?_

“Go on, Asano.” Ren placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly with only a little tightness in his smile. “It’s just three minutes.”

Gakushuu stayed tense, but Ren squeezed his shoulder reassuringly and kept smiling. “…Of course,” he replied, glancing briefly at the others who seemed more nervous.

So he left them alone for three minutes.

“Ren, Seo!” Gakushuu was freezing cold as he stared in horror at what his father had done, a dark smog covering the room and feeling icy to touch. “What…W-what did you do!?”

_They looked…_

He backed away in horror when he heard them muttering about murdering Class E like they were in some kind of hypnotic state. Their whole appearance looked like the undead.

“I merely fanned the flames of their hatred.” The Principal was staring out of the window. “It only takes a whispered word or three for those ‘connections’ of yours to collapse,” he said lightly while Gakushuu gritted his teeth and glared at him. “The strength I teach is nothing so fragile. I’ll handle the end of term exams from here on out.” When he turned around here was something demented in his gaze. “Without strength, you lack both meaning and merit.” He smiled at him and walked over. “I’ll teach you exactly that from square-one.”

Gakushuu backed away, feeling sick as his legs wobbled, bile rising up in his throat. “This…this is insane.” He looked back at his friends and tried to grab Ren’s arm. “Ren?” Ren’s blank gaze looked right through him like he wasn’t even there. “Ren…?”

The four boys just kept muttering and backed away from him without even a glance, causing his grip to go slack as Ren walked away from him.

Gakushuu’s eyes stung, shaking badly when his friends ignored him and walked away like he was nothing.

His father sighed, the cracks showing more and more as something monstrous started to reveal itself. “Frankly you should be thanking me for helping,” he said while Gakushuu stayed on the spot. “Now you can all get back on track.” His father placed hands on his shoulders. “No more distractions.”

Gakushuu’s hands shook as he curled them into fists, closing his eyes tight when it started to become impossible to hold back the tears which were stinging his eyes. He wanted to run, where he didn’t know, but the hands on his shoulders felt like hooks.

“Growing too attached to the people you’re leading only causes complications _, son.”_ The Principal’s tone might have been mistaken for fatherly but it just made Gakushuu’s skin crawl. “With _real_ strength, you don’t need to rely on others. Each connection made is a stepping stone to power, to _your_ greatness.” He squeezed his shoulders tight as a numb feeling started to spread in Gakushuu’s chest. “You can’t afford to lower your guard.”

Gakushuu stayed quiet as the numbness spread further and felt like it was draining the energy and life out of him. His mind felt like it was going into a haze as he replayed the moments earlier in his head like a crackled tv footage that was stuck on loop.

* * *

The next two days of Saturday and Sunday felt like he was walking through fog as the energy was sucked out of him.

None of his friends was responding to his calls, or messages, or emails.

The rest of A Class had seemed confused and almost panicked by everything, but Gakushuu hadn’t had the energy to even try to explain. It was a miracle he’d willed himself to face them.

_What was he even meant to say? That they’d soon be next if they couldn’t meet the Principal’s standards?_

Gakushuu stared at the textbook he was meant to be studying through on his desk. He’d read the page nearly ten times but he may have well spent the last three hours staring at a blank piece of paper.

“Erina says you haven’t eaten anything in two days.” The Principal had come into the room with a steaming bowl of soup. “You shouldn’t make her worry. She’s getting old.”

Gakushuu kept his gaze on the textbook while the steaming bowl was placed down next to him.

His father sighed. “I didn’t want to have to intervene with Class A, Asano,” he said, leaning against the desk while Gakushuu remained quiet. “But being a leader and a friend are two different things, and they can’t exist as one of the same, not with real strength.” He glanced down at him and placed a hand on his head. “ _Real strength_ requires sacrifices, a willingness to do whatever it takes to win, even at the cost of the weaker man if need be.” He was stroking his head gently, like he was a wounded pet in need of comfort. “No matter how much you’re hated for it, you have to win no matter what the cost. That’s _true_ leadership.”

No. No, it wasn’t.

Is thoughts drifted to 3-E’s carefree and almost insulting optimism and comradeship, even when faced with failure or impossible stakes. Their willingness to come together to protect each other no matter the inconvenience.

He’d thought they were idiots when they’d actually pulled together to protect Isogai from expulsion, but now…now he was starting to _really_ understand why.

Gakushuu bit down hard on his tongue, gripping his pen tight as he stayed silent, feeling his loathing start to grow from simmering to bubbling. The numbness faded when the anger started to seep in.

“Asano?” His father’s grip tilted his head up so he was forced to look at him “Do you understand?”

Gakushuu narrowed his eyes, smothering his hatred. “…Yes.”

The taller man stared down at him passively for a moment before sighing and letting go of his head. “Finish your soup.” He cast him a warning glance, heading to the door. “You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”

Gakushuu stayed silent as his father left. His gaze drifted to the steaming bowl of soup and felt a rise of revulsion when he remembered the half-frozen meal he’d been forced to eat previously.

He tossed the bowl of soup in the trash, the smell of it making him feel nauseous.

* * *

Admitting he needed Class E’s help was humiliating, and bowing even more so, but… _maybe you sometimes had to weak to be strong._ That seemed to be recurring lesson 3-E exuberated.

His gaze lingered on Isogai when he remembered the other’s words after the pole toppling competition. His friendliness. The infuriating happiness 3-E all shared together like they were some bizarre insane family. At the time, it had made his blood boil, but now? Now he understood.

The only way he was going to get his friends and classmates back or any of his leadership with 3-A, was to prove just how flawed the Principal’s idea of strength was. Even if it was humiliating, if that’s what it took to get his friends back. _Then so be it._

"Huh!" Akabane interrupted like the pest he was. "That's big of you and all but let me tell you right now, I'm actually gonna be the one to take the top spot!"

The delinquent known as Akabane stuck his tongue out.

Gakushuu gritted his teeth, trying to resist the strong urge to punch the boy.

"What I say? I said next time we weren't gonna be taking it easy on you, prepare to surrender your throne highness. You're going down." Akabane smirked while Gakushuu stared him warily. "Oh, but don't worry though, you'll look just as good in tenth place!"

How infuriating.

Gakushuu scowled, glaring the boldness of the red-head. The numbness faded entirely when a red-hot burst of energy started to overpower him the more Akabane’s arrogant smirk grew smugger.

He’d never wanted to punch someone so much in his life.

Then the human-ape known as Terasaka stepped in and looked tauntingly at Akabane. "Don't oversell it, man, just try to do better than me!"

Gakushuu snorted, causing Akabane’s eyes to narrow when he glanced at him, a tony blush appearing on his cheeks briefly.

A second late, Akabane viciously kneed Terasaka in the stomach repeatedly.

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow curiously. “Huh…”

He supposed others had different methods of disciplining their unruly classmates or minions.

"Asano," Isogai said, re-drawing his attention. "We've been working our butts off to win all along just like you guys have." Isogai smiled, stepping forward. "When you get right down to it everyone's on the same side," he pointed out. "We're stoked when we win, frustrated when we lose. No need for ranks beyond that." His smile grew. "That really should be enough, don't you think? E Class with shrive to do the best we can. That way A Class can have an opponent they'll be proud to face."

_Ugh…_

Gakushuu raised an eyebrow at his unfailing optimism.

"Don't overthink it, just bring it on." Akabane smiled slyly, making a slicing motion near his neck. "Yeah, try to make it fun," he challenged. "Come at us like you want us dead."

Gakushuu nearly laughed, something unexplainably amusing at that and the sheer audacity. He couldn’t remember anyone who had openly challenged or mocked him after suffering such a humiliating defeat.

It made him smirk, at the arrogant declaration of rivalry. There was just something refreshing about it. “How amusing. Very well, I'll fight with my gloves off too."

Akabane smirked back with an equal amount of arrogance, while the rest of them looked amused, something shifting in the atmosphere and the dark smog started to clear.

* * *

When finals came, and the final test had been marked up, defeat and failure broke through the smog and false strength like breaking a curse for his classmates when 3-E took the top 50 spots, shoving nearly more than half of Class A from their pedestals.

The hit that came after, and the cut and bruise on his cheek, was just an unfortunate consequence.

“I’m fine,” Gakushuu mumbled as Ren practically carried him to the nurses' office with the rest of his friends and 3-A hovering around like mother hens.

“You can barely walk!” Araki exclaimed.

Gakushuu shrugged and then winced when his shoulder hurt.

He supposed his father had hit him quite hard…

“I can’t believe the bastard hit you,” Seo muttered angrily, glaring. “Just who the fuck does he think he is?”

The corner of Gakushuu’s lips curved upwards slightly. “Well, he is the Principal.”

“Who fucking cares!?” Koyama snarled harshly, earning a raised eyebrow from Gakushuu.

“Are you sure nothing’s broken?” Ren asked worriedly, trying to pick him up. “You don’t need to walk all the way.”

“No! I’m fine!” Gakushuu’s cheeks heated up in alarm. “I’m not being carried!!!”

The thought of being hoisted up like some helpless damsel made his cheeks heat up in humiliation.

“But you’re limping!” Miura looked like she’d cry as she and his other classmates kept crowding around.

Gakushuu scowled, forcing himself to walk. “I’m fine.” He hissed a little when he put too much pressure on the bruised side of his body. “I’m just a little bruised but it’ll pass—”

“That’s it.” Ren hoisted him up and carried him.

“No!” Gakushuu started flailing, his face turning bright red. “PUT ME DOWN! I CAN WALK!”

Ren rolled his eyes and ignored his protests. “You smashed through three desks and into a _wall_. Stop lying!”

A few members of 3-A failed to hide their laughter.

_Damn them!_

Gakushuu tried to break free without risking falling flat on his face, clenching his fists and scowling almost petulantly. “Put me down! I am perfectly able to walk! I will not be humiliated by your—”

“Seriously, keep complaining and we’ll gag you,” Seo said flippantly.

Gakushuu nearly gawked. “What did you just say?!”

 _Just who did they think they were?!_ He was their leader, they weren’t allowed to speak to him with such blatant disrespect.

_Since when did failure lead to them to revolting against him?! This wasn’t a part of the plan!_

Araki laughed. “You really should calm down. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Gakushuu snapped, growing more infuriated as his composure vanished when the defiance of his classmates did away with all faux politeness. “I’ll have you all weeding the damn shrubbery if you don’t put me down this instant!”

His classmates ignored his threats as they continued onto the nurses' office, all traces of unnatural brainwashing removed like a sun creeping through the clouds.


End file.
